# Walter Byers Scholarship

The Walter Byers Scholar (also known as Walter Byers Scholarship, and Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship) program is a scholarship program that recognizes the top male and female student-athlete in NCAA sports and that is awarded annually by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA). The NCAA's considers it its highest academic award. The NCAA initiated the Walter Byers Scholarship program in 1988 in recognition of the service of Walter Byers. The award is a postgraduate scholarship program designed to encourage excellence in academic performance by student-athletes. The recipients each year are the one male and one female student-athlete who has combined the best elements of mind and body to achieve national distinction for his or her achievements, and who promises to be a future leader in his or her chosen field of career service. Winners receive scholarships for postgraduate study.

## Details

As of 2011, the stipend for each Byers Scholarship was $24,000 for an academic year. The scholarship amount is adjusted for the cost of living. The grant may be renewed for a second year based on academic progress. Financial need is not a factor in the granting of these scholarships. United States citizenship is not required to satisfy eligibility requirements. Awards from other sources will not disqualify an applicant, except that an awardee may not use more than one NCAA postgraduate scholarship. The Walter Byers Postgraduate Scholarship Program is separate and distinct from the NCAA Postgraduate Scholarship Program, which provides annual awards with smaller stipends.
The five-person Walter Byers Scholarship Committee, established by the NCAA membership and appointed by the NCAA Divisions I, II and III Management Councils, administers the program. The committee membership is required to include at least one man and one woman, at least one member from each division and subdivision of Division I, and one member each from Division II and Division III.
Among the most recognized for post-athletic career accomplishments are Randal Pinkett and Rob Pelinka. Of the winners the one most notable for having gone professional in his or her sport is National Football League veteran Rob Zatechka, who later went on to medical school.
Some winners have won other notable awards. The following lists dual winners of certain awards:
* Rhodes Scholar - Henderson, Thigpen, Pinkett
* Top VIII Award - Black, Roethlisberger, Busbee, Carney
* NCAA Woman of the Year Award - Black, Bersagel

## Winners

The historical winners are as follows:
| Year | Male | Male | Male | Female | Female | Female |
| Year | Athlete | Sport | School | Athlete | Sport | School |
| 1989 | Richard Hall | Basketball | Ball State University | Regina Cavanagh | Track and field | Rice University |
| 1990 | Dean Smith | Basketball | University of Maine | Linda Popovich | Volleyball | Bowling Green State University |
| 1991 | J. David Brown | Track and field Cross country | University of Iowa | Marie Roethlisberger | Gymnastics | University of Minnesota |
| 1992 | David Honea | Cross country | North Carolina State University | Sigall Kassutto | Gymnastics | University of California, Berkeley |
| 1993 | Rob Pelinka | Basketball | University of Michigan | Sheryl Klemme | Basketball | Saint Joseph's College (Indiana) |
| 1994 | Randal Pinkett | Track and field | Rutgers University | Christa Gannon | Basketball | University of California, Santa Barbara |
| 1995 | Robert Zatechka | Football | University of Nebraska–Lincoln | Carla Ainsworth | Swimming | Kenyon College |
| 1996 | Christopher Palmer | Football | St. John's University (Minnesota) | Tracey Holmes | Golf | University of Kentucky |
| 1997 | Scott Keane | Track and field | University of Cincinnati | Marya Morusiewicz | Volleyball | Barry University |
| 1998 | Robert "Brad" Gray | Football | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Marsha Harris | Basketball | New York University |
| 1999 | Samuel "Calvin" Thigpen | Track and field Cross country | University of Mississippi | Gladys Ganiel | Track and field Cross country | Providence College |
| 2000 | Matthew Busbee | Swimming | Auburn University | Anna Hallbergson | Tennis | Barry University |
| 2001 | Bradley Henderson | Basketball | University of Chicago | Kimberly Black | Swimming | University of Georgia |
| 2002 | Kyle Eash | Football Track and field | Illinois Wesleyan University | Claudia Veritas | Lacrosse | Wellesley College |
| 2003 | McLain "Mac" Schneider | Football | University of North Dakota | Natalie Halbach | Gymnastics | University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill |
| 2004 | Joaquin Zalacain | Tennis | University of Puerto Rico, Rio Piedras | Corrin Drakulich | Track and field | University of Georgia |
| 2005 | Matthew Gunn | Track and field Cross country | University of Arkansas | Sarah Dance | Swimming | Truman State University |
| 2006 | Bryan Norrington | Track and field | Colorado College | Annie Bersagel | Track and field Cross country | Wake Forest University |
| 2007 | Dane Todd | Football | University of Nebraska–Lincoln | Katie Kingsbury | Tennis | Washington and Lee University |
| 2008 | Dylan Carney | Gymnastics | Stanford University | Brenna Burns | Track and field Cross country | Davidson College |
| 2009 | Craig Sheedy | Diving | University of Arizona | Amy Massey | Soccer | University of Southern California |
| 2010 | Joshua Mahoney | Football | University of Northern Iowa | Katherine Theisen | Track and field Cross country | University of St. Thomas |
| 2011 | J. David Gatz | Swimming | Ohio Wesleyan University | Jessica Pixlar | Track and field Cross country | Seattle Pacific University |
| 2012 | Miles Batty | Track and field Cross Country | Brigham Young University | Kelsey Ward | Swimming | Drury University |
| 2013 | Matt Horn | Soccer | Winthrop University | Alexa Duling | Track and field | University of South Dakota |
| 2014 | Kyle Boden | Football | Emory and Henry College | Karenee Demery | Soccer | California State University, Stanislaus |
| 2015 | Tofey James "T.J." Leon IV | Swimming | Auburn University | Lucinda Kauffman | Field Hockey | Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania |
| 2016 | Mitchell Black | Track and Field | Tufts University | Katherine Riojas | Soccer | University of Tulsa |
| 2017 | George Bugarinovic | Basketball | Johns Hopkins University | Nandini Mehta | Soccer | Northwestern University |
| 2018 | Michael Seward | Hockey | Harvard University | Jennifer Carmichael | Track and Field | University of Oklahoma |
| 2019 | Derek Soled | Fencing | Yale University | Rachael Acker | Swimming | University of California, Berkeley |
| 2020 | Xavier Gonzalez | Tennis | Harvard University | Kayla Leland | Cross Country Basketball Track and Field | Whitworth University |
| 2021 | Ivo Cerda | Soccer | University of Michigan | Asia Seidt | Swimming | University of Kentucky |
| 2022 | Gavin Turner | Fencing | Pennsylvania State University | Mackenzie Niness | Swimming | Villanova University |
| 2023 | Dylan Kim | Fencing | Princeton University | Logan Eggleston | Volleyball | University of Texas |